Im doing the internet a disservice by redistributing this note. The net
could do to lose a few gazillion newbies.

———- Forwarded message ———-
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 22:46:56 EST
From: Frank M. Lanzafame <flanzafame@ECKERT.ACADCOMP.MONROECC.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list CHEMED-L <CHEMED-L@uwf.cc.uwf.edu>
Subject: Internet Downtime

*** Attention ***

Its that time again!

As many of you know, each leap year the Internet must be shut down for 24
hours in order to allow us to clean it. The cleaning process, which
eliminates dead email and inactive ftp, www and gopher sites, allows for
a better-working and faster Internet.

This year, the cleaning process will take place from 12:01 a.m. GMT on
Feb. 29 until 12:01 a.m. GMT on March 1. During that 24-hour period,
five powerful Internet-crawling robots situated around the world will
search the Internet and delete any data that they find.

In order to protect your valuable data from deletion we ask that you do
the following:

Disconnect all terminals and local area networks from their Internet
connections.
Shut down all Internet servers, or disconnect them from the Internet.
Disconnect all disks and hardrives from any connections to the Internet.
Refrain from connecting any computer to the Internet in any way.

We understand the inconvenience that this may cause some Internet users,
and we apologize. However, we are certain that any inconveniences will
be more than made up for by the increased speed and efficiency of the
Internet, once it has been cleared of electronic flotsam and jetsam.

We thank you for your cooperation.

Kim Dereksen
Interconnected Network Maintenance staff
Main branch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Sysops and others: Since the last Internet cleaning, the number of
Internet users has grown dramatically. Please assist us in alerting the
public of the upcoming Internet cleaning by posting this message where
your users will be able to read it. Please pass this message on to other
sysops and Internet users as well. Thank you.

——- End of Forwarded Message